Social democracy is in crisis not because it neglected its base; it actively hammered it. Greece, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Germany, even here in the UK the centre left has undergone partial or complete collapse because the core constituencies of these parties have found themselves made to pay for the crisis, bear the brunt of cuts, get thrown out of work, and had tin ears turned to them. If the left are not articulating the grievances people have and, worse, are playing a role stoking them in the first place, millions of people will look elsewhere.

Talk about the perfect coda: Tower Records founder Russ Solomon died with a drink in his hand and a smart-aleck remark on his lips.

Two thoughts: 1) What a way to go, and 2) The very first time I went to NYC, some 20 (gulp!) years ago, my friend Anna took me out on an evening walking tour. Pizza, beers and general people-watching. On our way home, we stopped at the Greenwich Village Tower Records, I guess around 11 or so. I bought “Career Moves” by Loudon Wainwright and a Paul Simon collection. I went back many times over the years, but the last time I visited NYC, they’d closed down. I realize downloads are cheaper, easier and probably better for the environment, but these places had a function I never thought about until after they were gone. My music collection comes with a lot of happy memories.

Bloggers thought that they were oiling the hinge of a turning point in human history. No one could have foreseen that in a couple of years this cosm of private sites would implode into five commercial black holes and turn the Web into the opposite of what it promised to be. With the help of Facebook, Google, trolls, AI, bot farms, click farms, persona software, blind hate, cold propaganda, hot ideology and good old greed the tables have been turned. Philosophically speaking, Social Media is a mental prison where Facebook exists to make us believe that Google is still open.

The Times remains one of the best-staffed news operations in the world. If they don’t right the ship on the editorial page quickly, there is a nonzero chance it could sink and take the rest of the paper with it.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, for example, Sobchak said, “I believe we could have avoided” the current tensions “if Russia were not rejected by the European Union. Unfortunately, the Europeans have not overcome their instinctive fear of Russia and never invited my country to join their great project.” The remark, of course, misses the fact that Russia neither applied to join the EU nor showed any willingness to go through the arduous accession process.

I have an emotional attachment to RSS the technology and RSS the community that sort of defies explanation. I suppose it’s the same way I feel about my library: I’ve collected a little treasure trove of other people’s ideas, and I’m not entirely sure what my life would look like without them.

The site is a collection of musings and asides, as well as quotes and links I find interesting and/or useful. I am a keen photographer and a fan of film and literature, and the site reflects my interests.